Let\u27s Play A Story: Early Educators\u27 Experience Implementing Story Drama with Support from Coaching

While imaginative play, music, movement, and the visual arts are established components of the curriculum in early childhood education (ECE), teacher-guided story drama, or “improvised role play stimulated by a story” (Booth, 2005, p. 8), is an underutilized arts-based practice that supports children’s early literacy skills, creativity, and enjoyment of learning. There are numerous practitioner books and resources about the benefits of and strategies for how to incorporate storytelling, dramatic play, theater, and creative dramatics into the early learning environment (Bolton & Heathcote, 1999; Booth, 2005; V. Brown & Pleydell, 1999; Carleton, 2012), however, there is little research examining the process early educators undergo when they attempt to integrate process-based dramatic pedagogies into their practice. This phenomenological case study examined four preschool teachers’ experience adopting story drama as an instructional practice with support from coaching. It explored the ways coaching supported preschool teachers’ adoption of story drama in their literacy curriculum; teachers’ experience engaging in story drama, a creative play-based pedagogy; and what teachers valued about integrating story drama into their pedagogical repertoire. Teachers participated in six weeks of coaching in story drama lesson planning, creative dramatics and storytelling techniques, coupled with observations of them implementing story drama lessons. Data were gathered from class observations and reflective dialogic interviews with participants before, during, and after the coaching intervention. The results reveal that teachers had a positive experience adopting story drama into their pedagogical repertoire. They felt that coaching introduced them to new techniques, resources, and perspectives while supporting their confidence with implementing story drama independently. Teachers felt that story drama was a meaningful practice in their curriculum with benefits to children’s social emotional and literacy skills. Engaging in story drama impacted teachers’ relationships with children and colleagues positively. Finally, teachers reported experiencing fun and joy in their workday as a result of playing with children during story drama lessons. While decades of research have focused on children’s play as a vehicle for authentic learning, few studies have examined the role of play in teachers’ practice. This study offers a unique view into the experience of early educators’ perceptions, in their own words, of adopting a playful process-centered theater-inspired pedagogy and the function of coaching to support their own creative self-efficacy. Findings of this study will allow relevant stakeholders to design professional development opportunities informed by early educators’ perspectives on their experience with coaching, play, and story drama

Galaxy Cosmological Mass Function

We study the galaxy cosmological mass function (GCMF) in a semi-empirical relativistic approach using observational data provided by galaxy redshift surveys. Starting from the theory of Ribeiro & Stoeger (2003, arXiv:astro-ph/0304094) between the mass-to-light ratio, the selection function obtained from the luminosity function (LF) data and the luminosity density, the average luminosity $L$ and the average galactic mass $\mathcal{M}_g$ are computed in terms of the redshift. $\mathcal{M}_g$ is also alternatively estimated by a method that uses the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF). Comparison of these two forms of deriving the average galactic mass allows us to infer a possible bias introduced by the selection criteria of the survey. We used the FORS Deep Field galaxy survey sample of 5558 galaxies in the redshift range $0.5 < z < 5.0$ and its LF Schechter parameters in the B-band, as well as this sample's stellar mass-to-light ratio and its GSMF data. Assuming ${\mathcal{M}_{g_0}} \approx 10^{11} \mathcal{M}_\odot$ as the local value of the average galactic mass, the LF approach results in $L_{B} \propto (1+z)^{(2.40 \pm 0.03)}$ and $\mathcal{M}_g \propto (1+z)^{(1.1\pm0.2)}$. However, using the GSMF results produces $\mathcal{M}_g \propto (1+z)^{(-0.58 \pm 0.22)}$. We chose the latter result as it is less biased. We then obtained the theoretical quantities of interest, such as the differential number counts, to calculate the GCMF, which can be fitted by a Schechter function. The derived GCMF follows theoretical predictions in which the less massive objects form first, being followed later by more massive ones. In the range $0.5 < z < 2.0$ the GCMF has a strong variation that can be interpreted as a higher rate of galaxy mergers or as a strong evolution in the star formation history of these galaxies.Comment: In memory of William R. Stoeger (1943-2014). LaTeX, 8 pages, 7 figures. Minor changes to match version sent to publisher. To appear in "Astronomy and Astrophysics

Mitochondrial metabolism and DNA methylation: a review of the interaction between two genomes.

Mitochondria are controlled by the coordination of two genomes: the mitochondrial and the nuclear DNA. As such, variations in nuclear gene expression as a consequence of mutations and epigenetic modifications can affect mitochondrial functionality. Conversely, the opposite could also be true. However, the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and epigenetics, such as nuclear DNA methylation, remains largely unexplored. Mitochondria function as central metabolic hubs controlling some of the main substrates involved in nuclear DNA methylation, via the one carbon metabolism, the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the methionine pathway. Here, we review key findings and highlight new areas of focus, with the ultimate goal of getting one step closer to understanding the genomic effects of mitochondrial dysfunction on nuclear epigenetic landscapes

Real-Time Quantitative PCR as a Tool for Monitoring Microbiological Quality of Food

Microbiological parameters of food provide quality information regarding the processing, storage, and distribution conditions, shelf life, as well as whether the food poses a health risk to the population. In this context, the concern with food safety is a competitive advantage, as the pressure of consumers, who are increasingly interested and concerned about what they are consuming, directs the trade to reach the quality of products and services offered. With regard to microbiological analyses, researchers have been developing sensitive techniques to produce rapid results, since traditional methods of microbiological culture are time-consuming and very laborious. Thus, the real-time quantitative PCR technique (qPCR) offers the possibility of quantifying the total bacterial DNA in a food sample without the need of the microbial growth step. That is, the result can be expressed on the same day, and it is possible to perform a simultaneous quantification of more than one pathogen in a single assay. Therefore, it can be a useful tool for monitoring microbiological quality in food industries. In this chapter, we will present the advantages and disadvantages of this methodology for food microbiology emphasizing the challenge of differentiating viable cells from nonviable cells

Regulation of HPV transcription

Human papillomavirus infection is associated with the development of malignant and benign neoplasms. Approximately 40 viral types can infect the anogenital mucosa and are categorized into high- and low-risk oncogenic human papillomavirus, depending on their association with the development of cervical carcinoma. High-risk human papillomavirus 16 and 18 are detected in 55% and 15% of all invasive cervical squamous cell carcinomas worldwide, respectively. Low-risk human papillomavirus 6 and 11 are responsible for 90% of genital warts and are also associated with the development of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Human papillomavirus preferentially infects mitotic active cells of the basal layer from both mucosal and cutaneous epithelium through microabrasions. The viral life cycle synchronizes with the epithelial differentiation program, which may be due, in part, to the binding of differentially expressed cellular transcription factors to the long control region throughout the various epithelial layers. This review aimed to summarize the current knowledge regarding the mechanisms by which viral gene expression is regulated and the influence of human papillomavirus heterogeneity upon this phenomenon. A better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms may elucidate the particularities of human papillomavirus-associated pathogenesis and may provide new tools for antiviral therapy

Artificial intelligence, Digital Single Market and the proposal of a right to fair and reasonable inferences: a legal issue between ethics and techniques

The article discusses the ethical and technical consequences of Artificial intelligence (hereinafter, A.I) applications and their usage of the European Union data protection legal framework to enable citizens to defend themselves against them. This goal is under the larger European Union Digital Single Market policy, which has concerns about how this subject correlates with personal data protection. The article has four sections. The first one introduces the main issue by describing the importance of AI applications in the contemporary world scenario. The second one describes some fundamental concepts about AI. The third section has an analysis of the ongoing policies for AI in the European Union and the Council of Europe proposal about ethics applicable to AI in the judicial systems. The fourth section is the conclusion, which debates the current legal mechanisms for citizens protection against fully automated decisions, based on European Union Law and in particular the General Data Protection Regulation. The conclusion will be that European Union Law is still under construction when it comes to providing effective protection to its citizens against automated inferences that are unfair or unreasonable

Refatoração e recomposição da integridade estrutural : o caso do Linderhof

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2019.A ferramenta Linderhof foi construída para implementação de ataques de negação de serviço amplificados. Suas funcionalidades foram implementas por diferentes progra- madores e devem ser estendidas em trabalhos futuros de graduação. A arquitetura da fer- ramenta se mostrou muito complexa. A implementação não segue a arquitetura proposta e o código da ferramenta pode ser melhorado. A documentação do software é escassa. Nesse trabalho, a arquitetura e a implementação da ferramenta foram reestruturadas, o código refatorado e a documentação ampliada.Linderhof was created as tool for the execution of amplified denial of service attacks. It was implemented by different programmers and its functionalities will be extended in the future. The architecture of the tool is too complex and the source code does not strictly follows it. There isn’t much software documentation and the source code can be improved. In this dissertation, the architecture and source code of the tool were restructured, the code refactored and more documentation elaborated

Choosing a running mate: selection of candidates for vice-presidency

Acontecimentos recentes têm atraído a atenção sobre a vice-presidência. Nisso está o debate entorno da seleção de candidato para o cargo. Nos regimes presidencialistas, o candidato a vice-presidente concorre na fórmula presidencial. Apesar de ser um instituto amplamente adotado na América Latina, há poucos trabalhos sobre esse tema. Dada essa ausência, este estudo investiga os critérios e as estratégias de seleção de candidatos à vice-presidência no Brasil pós-redemocratização. O objetivo é verificar se os critérios e as estratégias presentes no referencial teórico são aplicáveis ao caso brasileiro. Os achados indicam que os selecionadores procuram candidatos que possam auxiliar eleitoralmente a fórmula, mas que tenham, também, habilidade governativa para auxiliar o futuro presidente. Em específico, são escolhidos os candidatos com extensa carreira política, vindos de estados populosos, que equilibrem regionalmente com o candidato à presidência e que sejam de outra geração etária.Recent events have attracted attention to the vice presidency. Therein lies the debate surrounding the selection of candidates for the position. In presidential regimes, the candidate for vice president competes in the presidential ticket. Despite being widely adopted in Latin America, there are few studies on this subject. Given this absence, this study investigates the criteria and strategies for selecting vice-presidential candidates in Brazil after re-democratization. The aim is to verify if the strategies and criteria present in the theoretical framework apply to the Brazilian case. The findings indicate that the selectors look for candidates who can contribute electorally to the formula, but also have government skills to assist the future president. In particular, the selectors choose vice presidency candidates with an extensive political career, that come from populous States, that are from a different region and age generation of the presidency candidate

The Best of Two Worlds: Selection Strategies for Vice-Presidential Candidates

Voting for a presidential ticket is a common characteristic that is particular to the majority of presidential systems. When a voter chooses a candidate for president, they are actually also voting for the other person on the ticket, in other words, the potential successor if the mandate is interrupted. Therefore, the selection of the candidate who will run for election alongside the presidential candidate represents an opportunity to nominate someone who can increase the ticket’s electorate or increase a possible president’s capacity for governance. In the literature there is an absence of systematic studies of these strategies used in the selection of vice-presidential candidates. In order to fill part of this gap, this study proposes a Vice-Presidential Candidate Profile Index (VPCPI), which allows an analysis of the strategies adopted in the selection of running mates. For the case of Brazil after redemocratization, the results were hybrid, in other words, strategies were adopted to select candidates who can help attract votes for the ticket, but who also have political experience to act in future governments